Tag Archives: british open

If allowed a mulligan one year later, Paul Azinger would like to reassess an observation. That thing he said last year about “Tiger Woods being the lead story at every major until he quits.” Well, on the threshold of the 144th Open Championship at St. Andrews, Azinger concedes that isn’t the case.

So even if you slot the continued comeback efforts of Woods into the next position, well, who would have ever thought we’d see the day when we’d move him that far down the list of topics? Which isn’t to say that Woods is an afterthought, because he most certainly isn’t. It’s just that from what we’ve seen in 2015 — the chili-dips to the scores in the 80s to the bogey-free round at the Greenbrier Classic last Sunday — leaves even the most astute observers shaking their heads.

“I’d say that for the first time ever with him, I have no idea what to expect,” Andy North said.

Azinger, North and Curtis Strange will be on hand at the Old Course as part of the ESPN team that will broadcast all four days of championship play. They possess the necessary perspective, too.

Strange played in the Open Championship 13 times, including 1990 and 1995 at the Old Course, and for years he held the course record of 62, later matched by Brian Davis.

Azinger, who nearly won the Open Championship in his debut in 1987, played in 10 other Opens, including three at St. Andrews: 1990, 1995 and 2000.

North played in four Opens, including 1990 at the Old Course.

All are major champions, have a true understanding of links and a deep appreciation for this championship. Factor in their long observance of the iconic Woods, and their thoughts during an ESPN conference call Wednesday resonate. On the one hand, North thinks this year’s Open is coming at the perfect time for Woods, who steamrolled to victories at the Old Course by eight strokes in 2000 and by five in 2005.

“Every single hole he has a picture of good things happening,” North said. “He has good shots in his mind to fall back on.”

But the frustrating thing these days with Woods, a 79-time victor on Tour who hasn’t won in nearly two years, is that there is a flip side that is painted gray. North wasn’t getting overly giddy about the T-32 that Woods posted last week at the Greenbrier, even if it did include his first bogey-free round in nearly two years. Woods’ strokes-gained-putting stat was a minus-.251, and whatever hope he has for a good week at St. Andrews “comes down to one thing: how he putts,” North said.

Consistently, Azinger has questioned Woods’ seemingly endless obsession with mechanics, with swing-coach switches and changing what always worked beautifully.

“He’s got to get out of the lab and onto the golf course,” Azinger said. “He doesn’t need people telling him what to do; he needs someone to remind him to go out and just play.”

Picking up on that, Strange agreed with Azinger’s assessment that Woods needs to remind himself to “drive it, wedge it, putt it.” The thing is, “can he believe he can do it?” Strange said.

That, of course, is at the heart of this mystery, how the greatest player of his generation — and perhaps in history — has lost his confidence and forgotten how to repeat his golf swing near-flawlessly time after time after time.

“Nothing would surprise me,” Strange said. “I root for him. It’s better for the game if (he plays well), but he’s got to make this turnaround.”

World No. 1 Rory McIlroy has announced he ruptured a ligament in his left ankle and could potentially miss the British Open. In an Instagram post early Monday morning, McIlroy posted a photo of himself on crutches with a walking boot on his left foot. The caption reads: “Total rupture of left ATFL (ankle ligament) and associated joint capsule damage in a soccer kickabout with friends on Saturday. Continuing to assess extent of injury and treatment plan day by day.

Rehab already started….. Working hard to get back as soon as I can.” The 26-year-old is the reigning British champion and was the favorite to win a second Claret Jug at St. Andrews in two weeks. His spokesman, Sean O’Flaherty, said he was definitely out of the Scottish Open, which starts Thursday at Gullane. O’Flaherty said they would not know until the end of the week the prospects of McIlroy teeing it up at St. Andrews on July 16.

A spokeswoman for McIlroy told CNN there was a 10 percent chance McIlroy would play this year’s British Open. McIlroy referred to his ATFL, which is the anterior talofibular ligament and the one most commonly sprained. The left ankle is crucial in a golf swing as weight shifts to that side while generating power. “That’s a big blow to the Open if he misses it,” former Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance said from Wimbledon.

McIlroy won the Open last year at Royal Liverpool by going wire-to-wire and taking a six-shot lead into the final round. He also won the PGA Championship, joining Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Bobby Jones as the only players in the last century with four majors at age 25 or younger.

Tiger Woods removes his hat after his second round in the U.S. Open golf tournament at Chambers Bay on Friday, June 19, 2015 in University Place, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Given the recent form Tiger Woods has displayed in 2015, it would be a success if he simply makes the cut at St. Andrews—so says a majority of GOLF Magazine’s Top 100 Teachers.

When asked what would stand as a success for Woods when he competes at the British Open next month at St. Andrews—a venue he’s won at twice before—61 percent of the participants said it would be simply making the cut. “No one on Tour that has been quoted publicly feels he is ready to do much more (than make the cut), and they know more than any of us,” Michael Hebron (Smithtown Landing GC) said.

However, 26 percent of the participants said a top-20 finish would define success.

“It’s time for him to start getting back to form,” Ed Ibarguen (Duke University GC) said. “I realize he keeps saying he is playing to win, but a respectable top-20 finish on a golf course he has won on before would give him a slight boost. I’m sure anything less would be a disappointment to him.”

The British Open begins in two weeks at St. Andrews. Woods will play this week at The Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia, his last tournament before the British.